On the American Stock Market and its Future Photo: Pixabay Given it is July 4th, I thought it would only be fitting to talk about the one and only United States of America. In particular, I want to talk about how the U.S. became the dominant stock market of the 20th century and why the 21st…

On the Psychology of Picking Stocks and How to Use Passive Investing to Your Advantage Photo: Pixabay Do you think you can predict the future? I am guessing you, like me, would confidently say no. But, what if I asked you to predict the future of a very specific thing? Say the future of a…

Why Cryptocurrencies are No Different From Most Other Risky Assets Photo: Pixabay In the past few weeks, a few things have happened that have led me to do some digging on Bitcoin and why I think it is not that different from most other risky assets. For those of you that do not know what Bitcoin…

The Role of Momentum and Timing in the Stock Market Photo: Pixabay This week I want to talk about market timing and momentum in stock prices. Though I have already described why you should just keep buying regardless of market valuations, I want to dig deeper on this point to illustrate how difficult it can be…

A Lesson From Warren Buffett on the Power of Liquidity Photo: Pixabay This week I want to illustrate how you can ensure your financial soundness during the next crisis by having ample liquidity. But first, let’s start with a story: “But everything was not fine. Long-Term, which had calculated with such mathematical certainty that it…

Why Timing of Investment Returns Matters and What To Do About It Photo: Pexels I have previously written about how luck can influence your investment results, and this post will continue that discussion, but with some additional complexity. Not only does luck matter, but, in particular, your returns right before and in the first years of…

How Investing Has Changed and Why Future Returns Will Likely Be Lower Photo: Pixabay This week I want to talk about how much the investing world has changed over the last century and how these changes may reduce your future expected returns. My argument is that because it is now easier, cheaper, and less risky for…

When Diversification Fails and How to Prepare for the Next Crisis Photo: Wikimedia Commons There is a great line by Donald Rumsfeld about the knowledge of knowledge(paraphrasing, emphasis mine): There are known knowns; things we know we know. There are known unknowns; things we know we do not know. But there are also unknown unknowns — things we…

How Luck Influences Investment Success and What to Do About It Photo: Pixabay You likely do not remember it, but the year you were born had a larger impact on your future investment success than you can imagine. Why? Because the investment industry has a secret: Luck matters a lot more than you think And I am…

On Luck and Success in the Creative Industry Photo: Wikimedia Commons Having a creative career is like dynamite. The only thing you need to do is ignore how long the fuse is. This post is for all the people who want to make a name for themselves through writing, acting, music, art, or some other creative endeavor…